Seattle
|official_languages = |regional_languages = , |demonym = Seattleite, American |government_type = |rulertitle = |govthead = ( ) |govttitle = |ruler = Parker Ferguson ( ) |govtoff = ( ) |offtitle = |govtoff2 = ( ) |offtitle2 = |govtoff3 = ( ) |offtitle3 = |formation_date = 14 June 1846 |formation_event = |formation_date2 = 22 December 2009 |formation_event2 = |formation_date3 = 28 April 2010 |formation_event3 = United Kingdom |national_religion = Christianity |national_animal = |area = 717,818 km2 |population = 15,030,000 |ethnicity = , , |allies = Phoenix Rising |currency = Dollar |gdpyear = 2010 estimate |gdp = 395.071 billion |gdppercapita = 37405 |literacy = 64% |cctld = |drivinglane = Right |dateformat = |time_zone = , |portal = }} Seattle , officially known as the United Kingdom of the Americas, and alternatively known as the United Kingdom of the Pacific Northwest and the Lesser Antilles is a nation located in the Americas and comprised of , the former countries of , , , , and . The United Kingdom's capital and largest city is . The United Kingdom is a member of Phoenix Rising, the Green Protection Agency, and is an observer of and . The United Kingdom is bordered by the Tahoe Republic and the on its North American landmass, while in the Caribbean states it is bordered by the . The United Kingdom shares the island of with the Kingdom of Luxembourg. The UK has a large population of 15 million souls, most of which speak are centered in Northern Washington and British Columbia. Most of the citizens speak English and Spanish and are Christian. The Americas is constitutional monarchy, formally titled a United Kingdom, and is broken up into multiple states: , , , , , , and . All the states are broken up into provinces, and then further into counties. The United Kingdom is led by a Monarch, and has a Committee of Senators and a House of Representatives both of whom elect a out of their midst to serve as the Monarch's chief advisor. Etymology "Seattle" comes from "Sealth", also known as Chief Sealth of the Duwamish Tribe. Doc Maynard insisted that the city, formerly known as Duwamp, be named Seattle after the Indian Chief. Overview The United Kingdom of the Americas is a growing, developing, and young nation, with citizens primarily of Caucasian ethnicity whose religion is Christianity. It is a backwards nation when it comes to technology and many refer to it unkindly as a 'Third World Nation'. Its citizens pay moderately high tax rates and they are somewhat unhappy in their work environments as a result. The citizens of United Kingdom of the Americas work diligently to produce Aluminum and Cattle as tradable resources for their nation. It is a mostly neutral country when it comes to foreign affairs. It will usually only attack another nation if attacked first. United Kingdom of the Americas is currently researching nuclear technology for the use of nuclear power plants but believes nuclear weapons should be banned. The military of United Kingdom of the Americas has been positioned at all border crossings and is arresting all drug traffickers. United Kingdom of the Americas allows its citizens to openly protest their government, even if it means violence. It welcomes all new immigrants with open borders. United Kingdom of the Americas believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizen's right to speak freely about their government. The government gives whatever is necessary to help others out in times of crisis, even if it means hurting its own economy. United Kingdom of the Americas will not make deals with another country that has a history of inhuman treatment of its citizens. History Founding Archaeological excavations confirm that the Seattle area has been inhabited by humans for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived in the area, the people (now called the Duwamish Tribe) occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay. In 1851, a large party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River; they formally claimed it on September 14, 1851. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, the group who would eventually found Seattle. Members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28, 1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon and landed on Alki point during a rainstorm on November 13, 1851. After a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and founded the village of "Dewamps" or "Duwamps" on the site of present day Pioneer Square. Charles Terry and John Low remained at the original landing location and established a village they initially called "New York", but renamed "Alki" in April 1853, from a Chinook word meaning, roughly, by and by or someday. New York-Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance for the next few years, but in time Alki was abandoned and its residents moved across the bay to join the rest of the settlers. David Swinson ("Doc") Maynard, one of Duwamps's founders, was the primary advocate to rename the village "Seattle" after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The term, "Seattle", appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23, 1853, when the first plats for the village were filed. In 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14, 1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of trustees managing the city. Two years later, after a petition was filed by most of the leading citizens, the Legislature disincorporated the town. The town remained a precinct of King County until late 1869 when a new petition was filed and the city was re-incorporated with a Mayor-council government. Timber Town Seattle has a history of boom and bust cycles, as is common to cities near areas of extensive natural and mineral resources. Seattle has risen several times economically, then gone into precipitous decline, but it has typically used those periods to rebuild solid infrastructure. The first such boom, covering the early years of the city, was fueled by the lumber industry. (During this period the road now known as Yesler Way was nicknamed "Skid Road", after the timber skidding down the hill to Henry Yesler's sawmill. This is considered a possible origin for the term which later entered the wider American vocabulary as Skid Row.) Like much of the American West, Seattle saw numerous conflicts between labor and management, as well as ethnic tensions that culminated in the anti-Chinese riots of 1885–1886. This violence was caused by unemployed whites who determined to drive the Chinese from Seattle (anti-Chinese riots also occurred in Tacoma). Martial law was declared, and federal troops were brought in to put down the disorder. Nevertheless, the economic success in the Seattle area was so great that when the Great Seattle fire of 1889 destroyed the central business district, a far grander city center rapidly emerged in its place. Finance company Washington Mutual, for example, was founded in the immediate wake of the fire. However, the Panic of 1893 hit Seattle hard. Gold Rush, World War I, and the Great Depression This boom was followed by the construction of a park system, designed by the Olmsted brothers' landscape architecture firm. The second and most dramatic boom and bust resulted from the Klondike Gold Rush, which ended the depression that had begun with the Panic of 1893; in a short time, Seattle became a major transportation center. On July 14, 1897, the S.S. Portland docked with its famed "ton of gold", and Seattle became the main transport and supply point for the miners in Alaska and the Yukon. Those working men only found lasting wealth in a few cases, however; it was Seattle's business of clothing the miners and feeding them salmon that panned out in the long run. Along with Seattle, other cities like Everett, Tacoma, Port Townsend, Bremerton, and Olympia, all within Puget Sound became competitors for exchange, rather than mother-lodes for extraction, of precious metals. The boom lasted well into the early part of the 20th century and funded many new Seattle companies and products. In 1907, 19-year-old James E. Casey borrowed $100 from a friend and founded the American Messenger Company (later UPS). Other Seattle companies founded during this period include Nordstrom and Eddie Bauer. The Gold Rush era culminated in the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909, which is largely responsible for the layout of today's University of Washington campus. A shipbuilding boom in the early part of the 20th century became massive during World War I, making Seattle somewhat of a company town; the subsequent retrenchment led to the Seattle General Strike of 1919, the first general strike in the country. A 1912 city development plan by Virgil Bogue went largely unused. Seattle was mildly prosperous in the 1920s but was particularly hard hit in the Great Depression, experiencing some of the country's harshest labor strife in that era. Violence during the Maritime Strike of 1934 cost Seattle much of its maritime traffic, which was rerouted to the Port of Los Angeles. Seattle was also the home base of impresario Alexander Pantages who, starting in 1902, opened a number of theaters in the city exhibiting vaudeville acts and silent movies. His activities soon expanded, and the thrifty Greek went on and became one of America's greatest theater and movie tycoons. Between Pantages and his rival John Considine, Seattle was for a while the western United States' vaudeville mecca. The several theaters Scottish-born, Seattle-based architect B. Marcus Priteca built for Pantages in Seattle have all been either demolished or converted to other uses, but many of their theaters survive in other cities of the former United States of America. Post War Years Seattle and Bellevue then became home to Microsoft, a huge technology dealer. This attracted T-Mobile, Amazon.com, AT&T, and Boston Scientific, most of which still have small headquarters in the country today. The local economy dipped after World War II, which had seen the dispersion of the numerous Japanese-American businessmen. The local economy rose again with manufacturing company Boeing's growing dominance in the airliner market. Seattle celebrated its restored prosperity and made a bid for world recognition with the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. The local economy went into another major downturn in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Many left the area to look for work elsewhere, and two local real estate agents put up a billboard reading "Will the last person leaving Seattle – Turn out the lights." Still, Seattle remained the corporate headquarters of Boeing until 2001, when the company separated its headquarters from its major production facilities. Boeing finally chose to move its corporate headquarters to Chicago. The Seattle area is still home to Boeing's Renton narrow-body plant (where the 707, 720, 727, and 757 were assembled, and the 737 is assembled today) and Everett wide-body plant (assembly plant for the 747, 767, 777 and the 787 Dreamliner); the company's credit union for employees, BECU, remains based in the Seattle area, though it is available to the rest of the Seattle-area as well. Secession As the United States began to crumble, along with its neighbors Canada and Mexico, most parts of the country began to secede and form small nations. Then-Mayor of Seattle, Mike McGinn, when approached by the Mayor of Bellevue, was distraught when he attempted to keep his city in the United States. The Mayor of Bellevue, being advised by fellow Bellevue residents and to secede and form the United States of the Americas, a name which had been coined by Reichert. Mike McGinn denied the request, and that action was followed by massive downtown strikes. Violence engulfed the city, and buildings were being broken into one by one, windows being smashed in the street and home invasions were common. The ten day period of anarchy resulted in McGinns resignation, which was shortly followed by the United States of Bellevue's annexation of Seattle. They sent peace keepers to the streets from their own police force, and the city was calmed down by the 22nd of December, 2009. The resulting elections took place on January 10, 2009, giving power to Seattleite Parker Ferguson as President and naming McKenna and Reichert into the government. After ten days of being a United States, the leaders of the government were offered a deal by the Federation of Western Washington for entrance into the United States. , the President of the federation and former Senator for Washington State, met personally with McKenna, Ferguson, and Reichert. The relatively stable areas of the western region was regarded as key for expansion of the United States's mission, and it was accepted. As per the constitution of the United States, city-states or states that have applied for district/statehood must wait a month for review by the United States, western Washington was broken up into five different territories. They are Port Angeles, Bainbridge Island, Olympia, Tacoma, and Federal Way. As Parker Ferguson signed a bill pushed forward by the House and Senate that gave the army two hundred more tanks, it allowed the army to finally go on with its plan to reinforce the area, which had been riddled by anarchists. Vancouver had not officially joined any government, and the United States was willing to seize that opportunity. Operation: Frightened Thunder commenced, and the army sent forward two frontal divisions to secure the area, along with Ambassador Arcantos and four senators. The group of diplomats met with the mayor of the city, . They offered Vancouver the protection of the United States and near immediate statehood, something which they could amend the constitution for. The Vancouver Mayor agreed, and the state of Vancouver BC-Northern Washington was formed, closely followed by the United States's souther prospects of Vancouver-Portland State. Phoenix Rising The United States entered into an alliance known as Phoenix Rising, otherwise the Allied Governments of the World for Rising Nations. Ferguson and Secretary of State Rossi immediately boarded Pacific 1, which was closely guarded by two of the United State's pilots, and set for the European states of Phoenix Rising. Ferguson and Rossi eventually split up, with Ferguson taking Pacific 1 to TZW Country and Rossi heading for three other countries in the area on a chartered vessel. Ferguson met with some of the regional leaders and considered the diplomatic ties a success. Ferguson and Rossi then met up in the Texas Confederacy, where they met the leader: Sam Houston. They were able to convince the confederacy to trade their natural resources with their own. The position of Secretary of State was soon after merged with the Ambassador's office, making Rossi the ambassador to Phoenix Rising and all of the United State's trade partners. John Arcantos, the former Ambassador, resigned right before the merger and was placed as Under Secretary of State. The Senate, led by a Chairman Rob Mckenna's bill, voted to amend the constitution of the Americas to make the Secretary of State synonymous with the Vice President. Dino Rossi would then be second in line in the succession, while he would also be the country's Secretary of State. His pay would still be docked at the Secretary of State's pay, at US$295,000. Monarchy As economic downturn sparked in the entire area of the Pacific Northwest, the leaders of the government sent out Dino Rossi to the Kingdom of the Americas, which was headed by the government-in-exile of and her prime minister, . Both of them had retreated after the 2010 elections in Britain, establishing Cameron as Prime Minister mere days before nuclear winter sparked over Britain. The Queen brought most of her government with her, and they were able to establish a solid government in Barbados, which quickly expanded to the former countries of , , , . The queen’s government was legitimate, as most of the countries had been former British colonies, or were under the Commonwealth at the time, in which the queen invoked her de facto head-of-state status. Rossi was sent by Ferguson to arrange a government with the UK government-in-exile after battles defending the northern and southern parts of the border proved successful, but at the price of half the active service. Rossi negiotated with Queen Elizabeth and Cameron for a week with three top secretaries, and David Cameron, who had significantly more power than the queen, quickly agreed to this deal for the queen after three disastrous battles left the and crippled, and quickly set up a transitional government, while at the same time flying to Seattle personally to meet with Ferguson to re-write the constitution with senior representatives and senators. The Queen would remain head-of-state, but have little power, and Ferguson would become Prime Minister before the 2010 elections would take place, with David Cameron being deputy. The constitution put a large emphasis on monarch succession, which would put the re-branded Prime Minister—formerly “president”—up to vote in the House of Representatives for succession, and if that is not suitable then they would have to find a candidate in which they could agree on. After the constitution was signed, Ferguson became the first Prime Minister of the new United Kingdom of the Americas, under Queen Elizabeth II. David Cameron was then placed as Deputy Prime Minister, replacing Dino Rossi, who would again become Secretary of State. The queen then flew to Seattle to personally congratulate Ferguson on their awesome achievement. Civil War During the period of transition, rebels in Oregon all began to stock up on weapons and firearms. The queen, who opened her Bentley's convertible top with the good weather, was assassinated at 5:30 PM while going down the main street of Ludford, Oregon, a refugee city. Rebels then began to viciously attack the rest of the motorcade, claiming the life of two Labour and one Democrat representatives. The entire city was soon shut down, and the national guard instituted a curfew and locked down every single entrance to the city. The killer never left the small city, however, and the city was released two days afterward. A brief succession crisis occurred hours after, prompting Ferguson to be put to vote in the House of Representatives. He never wished for the monarchy, but was granted it by the majority vote, and was sped through the Senate. David Cameron immediately became Prime Minister, while the cabinet stayed the same. 2010 Elections The parliament was modified by Ferguson and Cameron, in which the districts they represented would be much smaller than originally deemed acceptable. This was due to the small nature of their house, and the need for more representation in a multi-party system. Cameron and Ferguson both agreed on 60,000 registered voters per district, and that set the number at 250. Cameron soon went forth to Ferguson with a request to dissolve the parliament and make forth for a month of elections. The election officially started on the 14th of April. Democrat , who was from Southern Florida, became the new minority leader in the house while former Secretary of State for Scotland , a member of the government-of-exile of Scotland, lead the new Labour party push. The Democrats made early gains in former safe-Republican areas such as Washington and Oregon, while Labour campaigned vigorously in Oregon and Washington as well. Republicans made the most gains in the south American states, and upon the elections on 6 May 2010, the Republicans ended up with 115 seats, losing some of their mainstream support win Washington and Oregon, while gaining some in Florida and Central America. The re-branded Democrats, who campaigned as "Liberal Lions", ended up with 95 seats, winning the most seats in Seattle, where they gained 37 of them, out of 66. Labour ended in third, with 40 seats in the House, 10 of them coming from Vancouver BC. David Cameron formed a minority government after talks between the Democrats and the Labour Party to come to a coalition agreement failed. Cameron, however, was able to garner the support of 25 Labour representatives and 14 Democrats in his attempt to reach the Prime Minister position again, giving him a majority of 154 votes in the . Cameron himself was re-elect in his district of the by a clear majority of 26,000 votes to 13,000 votes. Loss of Territory and soon after pro-independence representatives for the area were elected, and two viceroys that were also pro-independence came forth, were on the fast track for their own recognized nation state. And soon enough, after two weeks of debate in the Seattle congress building about the legality of their independence, Belize and Guyana were both granted independence from the United Kingdom. The catch, however, was that George VII (Parker Ferguson) remained monarch of both the realms while the UK lost all control of them. Southern Florida was then sold to the Great Lake States to manage the debt hole that occurred when Belize and Guyana left the tax bowl, and soon enough the United Kingdom was left with no territory in eastern North America and central and south America. House of Lords Act David Cameron, with the advice from the former Prince of Wales, submitted the House of Lords Act of September 2010. The House of Lords, in David Cameron's view, would lessen the load the Senate had to carry for submitting members to the Executive Department. The House of Lords would also satisfy those British exiles who had served in the House of Lords of the UK or another Royal position. The House of Lords act was passed with a tiny majority in the House of Representatives, and then passed with a near unanimous vote in the Senate. Chairman McKenna was able to garner the votes in the Senate by being able to guarantee a superior advisory role to the Prime Minister. Officially, any member in the House of Lords would be able to serve as the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, or any other role in the Executive Branch. George VII signed the bill into law on September 26, 2010, and the next day subsequently placed 292 Lords into the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor of the House of Lords became former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , who had emigrated to the Bahamas with the Queen and then to Seattle to work with David Cameron. The Monarch, who was given significantly more power in the House of Lords Act, immediately sent troops to the southern and northern borders of the UK, preparing them for two operations: Operation Iron Sweep and Operation Liberating Freedom. Iron Sweep aimed to capture northern and middle California, while Liberating Freedom was preparing the inevitable purchase of Alaska by the crown. The next day, the Republic of Northern America sold Alaska to the UK for $108 Billion Dollars, not counting any other preliminary factors. Iron Sweep began and ended the next day, with the Republic of California surrendering all arms. Both California and Alaska remain and territories, and are due to enter statehood in 2014. Sean Parnell, the former Governor of Alaska and the presiding officer of the Republic of Alaska, was chosen to serve as the territorial viceroy of the area. In California, , also the leader of the former state that occupied the area, was chosen by George VII to serve as leader of the territory. Senators (something that all crown dependencies are allowed to have) were elected in special elections throughout the two territories, with two Republicans ( and Jackson Young) from Alaska and a Democrat and Labour from California ( and ). There are no special elections from Representatives, so all representatives must be elected upon statehood and then subsequently the next general election. Economy The United Kingdom produces large amounts of aluminum and cattle for local use and export to other countries at a later date. The United Kingdom has been looking for trade partners all along the pacific coast and around the Puget Sound, but have had no luck so far. The United Kingdom has opened up relations with the Frobersgrun and Buccan Nations, and they have yet to respond to the Ambassador of the United Kingdom. Seattle gains a large sum of money by selling their technology, which is gained through private companies such as and . The United Kingdom gives them resources to build the technology, since the Prime Minister does not want the government to control more interests than the private sector. Seattle is expected, within a year or so, to be able to mass import technology to help the private sector grow. The United Kingdom's tax rates are at 19 percent, which is set by the Senate. Seattle uses the dollar was their main currency, while they use the and as reserve currencies. The United Kingdom's private sector maintains all banks, which is regulated by the Department of Finance. The largest bank that operates in Seattle is , which is centered in Seattle. , which has been re-named to Bank of North America, has a large branch in Seattle, centered in . The Department of Finance directs all loans, due to not repeat any recessions for loans and mortgages. Buying homes is an extremely tumultuous process in Seattle, due to previous laws set by the Senate. Geography The United Kingdom covers a rather large piece of land: the former US states of Washington and Oregon, plus a parcel of British Columbia, along with states in central and souther America, and multiple island chains in the West Indies. The population of the United Kingdom is unevenly spread out, with being the largest city in population and the most active in trading. , , , , , , and are all large cities in the United Kingdom as well. The rest of the population is unevenly spread out. The highest point is , at 4,392 meters. Mount Rainier is right next to Crystal Mountain, a ski resort that is common for United Kingdom residents to ski at. The United Kingdom shares the Columbia River with the Tahoe Republic. States The United Kingdom of the Americas is broken up into seven different states: , , , , , , and . Each state is responsible for state taxes, and most social programs (such as education and welfare) and collect more revenue than the federal government. The most populous state is the Northern Washington and British Columbia. Climate Climate in the Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia is extremely wet during the fall and winter seasons, at least in the pacific region of the country, while it heats up quite a bit during the spring and summer months. Major factors determining the United Kingdom's climate include the large semi-permanent high pressure and low pressure systems of the north Pacific Ocean, the continental air masses of North America, and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. In the spring and summer, a high pressure anticyclone system dominates the north Pacific Ocean, causing air to spiral out in a clockwise fashion. For Washington this means prevailing winds from the northwest bringing relatively cool air and a predictably dry season. In the autumn and winter, a low pressure cyclone system takes over in the north Pacific Ocean, with air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise fashion. This causes the United Kingdom's prevailing winds to come from the southwest, bringing relatively warm and moist air masses and a predictably wet season. The term Pineapple Express is used to describe the extreme form of this wet season pattern. The climate of the West Indies and Jamaica region is tropical but rainfall varies with elevation, size and water currents (cool upwellings keep the ABC islands arid). Warm, moist tradewinds blow consistently from the east creating rainforest/semidesert divisions on mountainous islands. Occasional northwesterlies affect the northern islands in the winter. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, divided into 'dry' and 'wet' seasons, with the last six months of the year being wetter than the first half. Resources The resources of the United Kingdom are aluminum and cattle. Aluminum is mined out of beryl veins near Rainier. Farms all around the less populated areas of the United Kingdom are abundant with cattle. The government mandates the price of cattle for all citizens to enjoy fresh meat. Government The United Kingdom of the Americas is a constitutional monarchy, with Parker Ferguson serving as head of state. Seattle’s constitution labels it a constitutional monarchy with a republican and a representative democracy, in which the majority rule is tempered by the minority rights, which is protected by law. The United Kingdom has a system of checks and balances which is defined by the Constitution of the United Kingdom, which is the United Kingdom’s supreme document of legal standing. In the Seattle federalist system, citizens are subject to three levels of government—federal, citywide, and local. The federal government of Seattle is composed of three branches: * Legislative: the bicameral Parliament is made up of a Committee of Senators and the House of Representatives. They can make federal law, declare war on other nations, approve treaties and trade agreements, the power of the purse, and they have the power of impeachment, by which they can remove a sitting member of any government. * Executive: the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, who can veto legislative bills before they become law, and can appoint department secretaries and other officers, who administer and enforce the law of the federal government. * Judicial: the Judicial system of the United Kingdom is headed by the Supreme Court, and followed by Local Courts and the Court of Appeals. The judicial branch of the government is one of the smallest branches of the executive. The House of Representatives has 250 members, each being elected from a district of 60,000 people. Each Representative serves a two year term. Districts are added and subtracted from the United Kingdom every five years, when the Census Department does their annual population census. The Committee of Senators has fourteen senators, two being elected from each of the United Kingdom’s states. Each senator serves a five year term and can only be elected four times. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is elected the parliament, and is put to vote by the Senate and House of Representatives. The Prime Minister must be serving as an active Senator or Representative, and pass a vote of no confidence. The Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the Prime Minister. There are 9 supreme court justices, and the Supreme Justice is appointed out of the group. Each member serves for life or until they retire. Most of the cities in the United Kingdom either elect a mayor and a city council, or elect a mayor and a board of Presidents which come from gerrymandered districts in the city limits. Any law that is composed by the federal government is subject to void through the Supreme Court, if the law is deemed un-constitutional. Structure Here is the governmental structure of the Seattle and Bellevue government. Departments The Departments of the United Kingdom basically run the day-to-day activites of the government. There are currently thirteen departments on the executive, while the number of ministries on the local level varies by area. All executive level departments are responsible for the overseeing the administration of local departments, and also to oversee the nation-wide administration of the department's mission and aid. Division of Powers The government of the United Kingdom is split into two sections―the Federal Government and the State Government. The Federal Government is lead by the Prime Minister, and is responsible for , , and the coordination and aid of State Governments. State governments are responsible for the welfare of their residents, all state matters, and state-based taxation. Power is further divided in every state into county and city-wide governments. The State Governments are led by a , who are voted on by the people from a list of three candidates presented to them by the monarch. State governments all have departments that coordinate with the federal departments, and all states are able to send one advisor to the Department of State, to serve as an advisor to the Secretary. The state governments are able to abolish all state wide departments if deemed necessary. The Federal Government is more powerful than the State Governments, but recent trends in the Senate and House of Representatives are attempting to offset this by giving the state governments more power. Elections Eligibility In order to run for office, the constitution of Seattle requires you to be: * a citizen and resident of the United Kingdom for at least ten years, * twenty five years old, * mentally sane, and have no criminal record in your life, * and a representative of a district. A person running to be a Representative in the House or a Senator must live in Seattle or Bellevue (if senator), and live in their district if a Representative. Process Campaign and Debate Every citizen that would like to run for an elected office in the United Kingdom must first go through their own party primaries (which are all sponsored by their parties) and then be shot through the United Kingdom Election Department. If the citizen is running as an independent you just need to be verified by the CED. All advertisements and campaign calls can go on for a month, after which all will cease for a series of debates. The debates will be hosted at some third party who is un-affiliated, such as a newspaper or TV headquarters or radio station. General Voting Voting would begin a week after debate, and in order to vote you must be: *a citizen of the United Kingdom with a valid ID, *eighteen years or older, *must have a valid voting card, *must not be working for the judicial branch or CED, *and must not have any criminal record in the past four years. Eligible citizens will vote for their area's Representative, Senator, and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, plus local elections, at a local polling station which is put on by the CED. Appointment The House and the Senate elects their speaker and chairman, respectively. The Supreme Court Justice is nominated by the Prime Minister, and approved by the Senate. All other justices are appointed by the Prime Minister as well. The Prime Minister appoints all cabinet secretaries and department heads, and has the power to appoint (without approval) members of both houses after their seat was abdicated for either death or retirement. But, by law, the new member has to be a member of the same political party as the abdicated. Politics The United Kingdom is a three-party system, those parties being the majority and the two parties of the minority: the and the . Seattle, the largest city in the United Kingdom, was formerly a Liberal stronghold until refugees from Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington, both center-right cities, flooded into Seattle, it changed Seattle's political climate to more moderate conservatives. There are currently very few small party candidates, and most of them align with the Democratic or Labour party. None of their candidates have been elected. Within the former United States culture, the Republican Party commonly identifies with center-right policies, or “conservative”, even though most Seattle Republicans are moderates at best. The Democrats are considered center-left, or “liberal”. Most of Bellevue and the Seattle suburbs identify as moderate Republicans, while west and downtown Seattle identify as liberals. The winner of the 2009 federal elections was Republican Parker Ferguson of Seattle, and he was the 1st President of the United Kingdom of the Americas. The 2009 elections also saw a slim majority rise up for the Republicans in the senate, with a 8 to 6 lead over the Democrats. The House elections saw the Republicans get a larger majority in the senate, with a 64 to 36 lead over the Democrats. Only one member of a third party, of the Labor-Union Party, was elected from south Seattle. The majority of large city mayorships went to Democrats (out of the 10 major cities, 6 went to Democrats) while the same was with their city councils. Out of the smaller cities, the Republicans took a lead over the mayorships (64% of total mayorships). The 2010 elections saw slightly different results with the newly added states in southern and central America, and the ideological shift that followed between the two parties. David Cameron came on as Prime Minister (a change from the presidential system) after Ferguson became monarch, and the Republicans gained 115 out of the 250 seats, while Democrats took 95 and Labour took 40. Foreign Affairs Society Education All education in the United Kingdom of the Americas is privatized, due to a limited national budget on education. The total education budget, as part of the overall budget of the government, is .98 percent. Almost all of the public funds that go towards education are grants that allow students with special abilities to attend high rate schools. The government requires all private schools to have a mandated price for their services, and requires some schools to give scholarships to those in need. Homeschooling is a legal option, but is frowned upon. The government requires the student to go through elementary and middle school, high school, and at least two years of college. If a student were to drop out at any of these levels, the family or the student would be heavily penalized. The average school year in the United Kingdom is mandated by the Secretary of Education and the Senate to the days between the 28th of August and the 10th of June. It is mandatory that all schools run at least five six hour days of school. There is an option for a sixth day, but it is illegal to require a seventh day. The homework load of most students is moderate at the elementary and middle school levels, but the schools usually pack up on homework as they go higher in their education. Most schools teach the languages of and , and sometimes as a replacement for German. Uniforms are common in almost all of the Catholic, private and other religiously based schools. The current Secretary of Education is . Transportation Paved roads and elevated highways are the most common type of transportation that citizens use every day. The United Kingdom requires that everyone drives on the right side of the road, and most cars in the United Kingdom are of , , , , and make. For reasons known to everyone, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs and using a handheld device while driving are illegal, however, handsfree devices are legal. All roads in the United Kingdom have speed limits under 70 MPH, and most are pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Other popular types of transportation are , a light rail-type system, and multiple bus systems. For trips overseas or long distance, the most preferred method of travel is to use airlines (such as the local ), ferries throughout the Puget Sound, and . Plans for a major highway system throughout the United Kingdom is set for 2013, and a country-wide light rail system is set for 2020. To measure speed and distance, the government uses the (along with all other forms of measurement). The highways are set to have a speed limit of 65 miles per hour. Health Industrial While the Americas was still part of the , factories were built all along the outskirts of both Seattle and Vancouver BC. The most notable of these factories is the Boeing Factory, in the Seattle suburb of . Recently, the government has given out contracts to multiple local companies to build a grouping of factories on the Colombia River. Those plans were scrapped, and instead the government positioned the factories on the Puget Sound. The government's Secretary of Development, Arman Grace, issued a statement saying that "all companies of all countries are welcome into this country, this nation under God." The government also cites these factories as a tool to stop the recently high unemployment rates inside the nation. The largest employers in these factories are ( ), ( ), and ( , , and ). These companies manufacture 70% of the United Kingdom' manufactured resources. On April 20, 2010, Secretary Grace, along with President Ferguson (now Prime Minister), Chairman McKenna, and Speaker Reichert, unveiled a new plan for five new labor camps all around the nation. This measure was passed through the Senate with a 86 vote majority. The plan is set to be finished in 2015. Sports The Americas is a home of avid runners and bikers, along with many citizens participating in . Some of the most popular sports during the winter are , , , , and . Outdoor and summer sports are , , , and . Each school in the United Kingdom is required to give at least 30 minutes each day of extracurricular activities to each student. The state government of the Seattle Metro Area has proposed a tax increase to pay for over US$715 million in repairs to and . Sixty million of the price is reportedly being drawn from sponsors to rename Safeco Field to Boeing Field, and Qwest Field to Flinn Field (nicknamed by the residents of Seattle "FF"). There are local community centers for the CYO ( ) and other local school sports teams, where they can play daily. These are not kept up by the government, but instead by local city-wide governments and local action. The government, after they complete those stadiums by the estimated date of 2011, wish to send a team to compete in the Summer Olympics of 2012. Spirituality Almost 90% of all citizens in the Americas practice a form of religion. Most citizens follow a form of , which is split near evenly, with 55% of them being and the remainder being . Military and Defence The armed forces of the Americas is called the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and composed of land-, special operations-, marine-, and air-based forces. All of the forces of the United Kingdom are equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and technology (with the technology coming from local sources), and equipment coming from out of nation. The headquarters of the armed forces is located in the outskirts of , which is a two hundred acre campus lodged out of a formal industrial park. The headquarters is well protected from all attacks by air (with turrets surrounding the entire campus), aquatic, and land attacks. Before the Americas seceded from the United States and other countries, the area was extremely pro-pacifist and anti-military. During the course of secession and succeeding expansion in the area, the people turned pro-military as long as are not involved. , the current secretary of defense, came from Boeing's missile defense program, and was placed in the position by Parker Ferguson. Hood suggested that the military be positioned all around the country, and that they let the police forces control the cities. While many of the Republican Party did not like this option, they had to agree with it due to Speaker Reichert's pleas. The military has absolutely no involvement in city-wide police. Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled plans on the 12th of May for the previously constructed "Gulf Wall", the "Gulf Wall" has its own division, the Gulf Task Force. The Gulf Task Force has been given the most of the military funding for the 2012 budget plan (which are drafted four years ahead of hand due to any need to quickly change it). The Gulf Task Force is led by the Secretary of State for Defense, more commonly known as the Secretary of Defense. The Gulf Wall employs elements of over fifty airbases and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, along with some helicopters from the Royal Army. All airfields on every island is connected with over five airfields on other islands through direct travel. The centers of most airfield traffic are located in and . There are over three hundred sonar buoys laid in the Gulf of Mexico that were planted by the United Kingdom to alarm them of any intruders. The armed forces is made up of the Army, the Navy, the National Guards of all states, the Air Force, the Marine Core, and the Occupation Force. Events and Holidays Category:Seattle